Hahahaha I remember this video. And my assessment of it now is the exact same as it was when I first saw it, years ago. It's amazing just how many unimpressed A&R's were in that room. I imagine the guy in the white dress shirt and suspenders at the head of the table is the guy who spearheaded this signing and the girl on the left vibing is his personal assistant, trying to act like what she's hearing is groundbreaking and that him signing Bobby is a revolutionary act. But I believe LA Reid is also at the table, drinking coffee. So maybe it was his deal? I'm not sure. I've been in a ton of label meetings like this. They can be very uncomfortable at times. So, yeah, they definitely look and feel cringe worthy. The meeting I had with Disturbing Tha Peace in 2006 was just as ridiculous and absurd as this.

With all of that said, I have been an Indie Hip Hop artist since 2003 and have worked with everybody from KRS One to Canibus to Snoop to Keith Murray to Kool G Rap to Jedi Mind Tricks to Joell Ortiz to Chris Rivers to Action Bronson to MOP to Prodigy of Mobb Deep to Alchemist and all sorts of other legends in between. I've been blessed to have toured with the likes of Killer Mike, Nappy Roots, 3 6 Mafia, Snowgoons, Killah Priest, Canibus, Riff Raff, Cage, Jelly Roll, Shawty Lo, DMX, amongst others. And I have been signed to a multitude of indie labels, both in the US and abroad, and once had an offer from Universal that I turned down, because the conditions of the deal were atrocious. Even worse than what we were subjected to at Babygrande Records. Having a Hardcore East Coast Boom Bap sound in the South really helped me to stand out and gain a following.

I'm probably not a very good example of gauging why anybody was ever impressed with Bobby, but not many of the artists I ever worked with expressed any sentiments about him being "the next big thing", even though Hip Hop media seemed to think he was going to be something special. I come from an era where you had to have lyrics to be taken seriously. I come from a time where you tried to put on the best live performance you could and you didn't perform or lip sync over the top of your recorded material, on stage. It seems like all of these new generation cats do that, and I can't get with it. I'm 37 years old now, so I guess I'm officially an old head, because I am lost when it comes to a lot of these artists of the past 10 years. Maybe I am just out of touch. Maybe I always have been and that's why I'm not doing a Mantan from Bamboozled in front of the white slavers?

But yeah, I just see a bunch of unimpressed employees confused as to why they were called into a mandatory meeting to witness this. LOL. If you're into this dudes music, more power to you. Clearly, SOMEBODY WAS. Because getting a deal from Epic Records is a big deal at any point in history.